


Someone That I Used To Be (or Someone That I Will Be)

by MintyTrifecta



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Assassination, Ghost Quartet, Mississippi Purchase, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other, Some scythe inspiration in there, Songfic, Sort Of, This might be OOC but that's fine, Time Travel, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22818781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MintyTrifecta/pseuds/MintyTrifecta
Summary: Vinnie Dakota was not a good person. He knows this.He only hopes that those who find out can forgive him
Relationships: Balthazar Cavendish & Vinnie Dakota, Vinnie Dakota & Milo Murphy, Vinnie Dakota & Savannah
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. Prologue: So I Don't Believe In Ghosts

**Author's Note:**

> This all started from a small headcanon and snowballed into this mess I don't know fams. The song i used is "Hero" from ghost quartet, written by Dave Malloy

Vinnie Dakota was not a good person. 

Living life in a shitty earth where seemingly nothing went right he grew to accept the world is crap and move on.

So whenever he saw people being killed in the street, begging for his help, or heard about another bomb being dropped somewhere he didn't cry. He didn't care.

Vinnie Dakota was never a good person.

Having no fallback professions made it hard to earn money and harder than it already is to live. Everyone he knew and was friends with were either thieves, drug dealers, living life on the edge, or assassins. 

Vinnie Dakota was not a good person, but neither were any of them.

Out of all the things he could do in his life, he chose the final option and started training to kill.

His mentor and long life friend, Savannah had at least twenty kills in her resume and she wasn't planning on stopping any time soon. 

Dakota recalls his first real mission. 

Taking down a gang leader who'd been kidnapping from schools.

He tried to make it as quick and efficient as possible. But the kid who was being held up didn't survive. 

A heavy weight settled on his chest for the first time in years.

After that mission it gets easier and easier to stomach and all of a sudden it doesn't matter who it is as long as he gets the job done right.

Years pass and he's getting ready for his final mission. 

The Agency League of Time Travel, a rebellion group, opened up an Academy and promised to fix this timeline.

Well, he might as well join up and try to help. Anything better than this shitpile he's been living in.

His mission is to assassinate a pianist during their performance. Vinnie isn't really sure why this guy is his target but hey a job's a job. 

So Dakota gets comfortable. He sits on a ramp held just before the lights, invisible. Dakota watches and studies his target.

Clearly, he's a person of high stature, or else he wouldn't be wearing such fancy clothes. He plays the piano expertly, probably the son of a musician. Sucks to be his dad right now.

He finishes the first act of his performance and bows. Here's his chance.

Dakota readies his aim, right at his head.

And shoots.

Dakota exits the building, not bothered by the screaming.

Vinnie Dakota was not a good person.


	2. I Have a Lot of Memories (And I Have a Lot of Sadness)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vinnie Dakota is not a hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The main chapter is here folks! You can always rely on handy dandy RSD to help write painful shit. This all started from a small headcanon I made and here we are.

_Guess I messed up ___

__His first mission was to stop something dubbed "The Mississippi Purchase". Apparently the Spanish treaty to put their goods and trades in the area outraged enough people that a war started over the area. Napoleon made a move to protect land sitting on what is now known as Mississippi and caused even bloodier battles. Yellow fever mixed with bloodshed mixed with hate and distrust led to greater wars and much less development in technology._ _

__Dakota was part of the group sent in as undercover agents to be seated in Thomas Jefferson's governing party. He was the one who brought up the idea of offering the purchase and in turn, less bloodshed._ _

__Which surprisingly worked and went successfully._ _

__Until it didn't._ _

__Coming back into the fixed future, Dakota scanned in to find records of his mission, but none were there._ _

__The Agency he was part of never existed._ _

__Which means, neither did he…_ _

__Dakota freezes for a moment before regaining himself._ _

__Well, no matter. This could be a clean slate! A new beginning._ _

__Dakota did the best he could to ignore the weight on his chest._ _

__

__Guess I made a bad call_ _

__

__Dakota had been in the Bureau for a few years now. Gave himself a complete makeover and change in personality._ _

__Yet he couldn’t find himself removing his glasses. The only artifact left from his timeline that he possessed. It wasn’t particularly special, just another pair of sunglasses he got during one of his missions and decided to keep, he told people._ _

__He doesn’t know why it means so much to him._ _

__He heard his stomach rumble. 'Enough thinky time more feedy time.'_ _

__Vinnie ended up wandering into the time vehicle operations facility. Wasn’t today the test for new recruits or something? Eh who cares he’s hungry and wants a burrito._ _

__Upon entering a vehicle he found it was occupied._ _

__The person sitting there looked suspiciously familiar._ _

__And had terrible taste in lollipops._ _

__

__But I have no idea_ _

__

__After a shortcut through some dinosaur ages, Dakota and the person in the car he was in arrived at their destination._ _

__Twenty first century Danville._ _

__His food-buddy started ranting about how what he was doing broke code and rules for how time vehicles should be used and how he should follow these rules as if anyone working for the Bureau gives a damn about the rules aside from rookies and judges._ _

__And then he found kids in danger._ _

__Well we can’t have anyone dying when we’re nearby now can we?_ _

__(It wasn’t until he met the kids, years into the future, that he realized why the boy’s smile had been so hauntingly familiar)_ _

__(it puts a weight on Dakota’s chest)_ _

__

__What I could have done different_ _

__

__Turns out his food-buddy is his new time travel partner. Dakota inwardly cringes at his first impression. God, this won’t end well for him._ _

__Surprisingly, Food-buddy er- Cavendish doesn’t rat him out. Dakota opens his eyes and shakes hands with his new partner._ _

__

__One little choice_ _

__

__Dakota sits up in his bed, early in the morning._ _

__

__One small action_ _

__

__He realizes where he knows Cavendish from._ _

__

__One coincidence of thought_ _

__

__He killed him._ _

__

__And the lights went out._ _

__

__Dakota fumbles with his glasses in his hands, unable to bring himself to go back to sleep._ _

__He stands atop the Bureau roof, watching the pale glows of electrical illumination below him. If he were in his original time, something of this magnitude would even be imagined._ _

__The brightest of people would have never seen this beauty._ _

__Yes, to one from a world like this one it would pass as a regular night. But in a world unlike this, the glow of the lights and technological wonders seem almost like magic. How fortunate, Dakota thinks, that humanity has the gift of imagination._ _

__The eerie darkness of the stars above give comfort, as well as doubt. No matter what timeline, the stars never change. If Dakota tells his child self he finds comfort in stars, why he’s sure the child will laugh at him. But he can’t help it._ _

__The stars served him as a constant reminder to keep wonder in his life. To never go back to living carelessly. To have empathy._ _

__Dakota sighs._ _

__What it, he thinks, what if one day he travels back in time; what if one day the stars go out. What will he do then? He’ll be left unguided, alone, with no light left. He doesn’t want to be who he was. He’s changed._ _

__Or so he hoped._ _

__

__I never thought_ _

__

__Dakota did his job without a second thought. Who cares who got hurt as long as he finished the mission._ _

__

__Things really die_ _

__

__As Dakota did more and more time traveling missions, the heavier he felt._ _

__It never really dawned on him what he's done._ _

__Oh how he wishes he could take it back._ _

__

__Not in real life_ _

__

__Dakota remembers how he and his friends would try to fantasize a better land for themselves. One where they didn't have to cower in fear, one where they could all be happy together._ _

__So why does he feel so agonized now that he's there?_ _

__

__In real life_ _

__

__He avoids Cavendish for a week after they met. He couldn't look at him anymore. It makes him want to vomit._ _

__

__There's no such thing as ghosts._ _

__

__Dakota can't touch firearms anymore._ _

__The mirrors know this and mock him with familiar faces._ _

__

__I am not a hero_ _

__

__Dakota tried hard not to mention anything to Cavendish during their time together, but he found it progressively harder to keep his mouth shut._ _

__

__I am not a movie star_ _

__

__Dakota smiled at his partner going off on another tangent about how famous they'll be once they complete a big mission._ _

__Vinnie lets his smile fall for a second after he realizes that Cavendish was famous before the timeline changed._ _

__He took that dream away from him._ _

__Dakota brings his smile back after Cavendish asks if he's okay._ _

__

__I am not a genius, I know_ _

__

__Ask Dakota and he'll tell you Cavendish is the brains of the duo. He's figured out things much faster and better than Dakota ever could._ _

__Ask Cavendish and he'll tell you Dakota is much smarter than he lets on._ _

__

__I am not a monk_ _

__

__Dakota seldom finds himself getting mad. He considers himself even-tempered and flexible._ _

__So when Cavendish and Milo almost get caught by the pistachions, Dakota does what he rarely ever does._ _

__He snaps and tries to attack._ _

__He'll deny any accusation of breaking down the night after._ _

__

__I'm not special_ _

__

__Dakota doesn't know why he does it. Why keep sacrificing yourself for just one person over and over again._ _

__He tells himself, Its Cavendish what're you gonna do?_ _

__He tells himself, Anyone else would have done the same._ _

__He let's his mind drift off to the Island. Do any of the Dakotas there regret what they've done?_ _

__

__I'm the same as anybody else_ _

__

__Dakota screamed at the judges. In his fit of blind rage he let's it slip he's changed the timeline without authorisation._ _

__Dakota and Cavendish are sent back to the 21st century._ _

__The weight on his chest is back._ _

__

__You and I_ _

__

__Dakota and Cavendish._ _

__Cavendish and Dakota._ _

__That's how they're remembered._ _

__Their friends think they're inseparable._ _

__Dakota thinks they're fragile._ _

__

__We were always a mess_ _

__

__The day Cavendish left him to find the alien ship was one of his worst days._ _

__He didn't know why he left. Or to where._ _

__A creeping feeling in the back of his head told him that Cav found out._ _

__Dakota didn't sleep that night._ _

__

__Drinking our bourbon_ _

__

__The day they came back from Octalia was one of his proudest._ _

__They found Cavendish and helped save an entire planet for God's sake._ _

__The party they had lasted for hours._ _

__Dakota didn't leave his side._ _

__

__Screaming in the streets._ _

__

__They went back to their jobs at P.I.G. and tried explaining what happened. Block only laughed and sent them back on their mission._ _

__Dakota has never heard Cavendish as angry as he was then._ _

__

__When I saw you coming_ _

__

__It gets close to the date he killed him._ _

__

__Ice and rage in your eyes_ _

__

__Nightmares and anxiety seize him day and night._ _

__

__I put on my Armour and my shield_ _

__

__Dakota wasn't going to be deterred. Cavendish had enough to worry about anyways._ _

__

__And raised up my sword_ _

__

__He shut himself in and cried. Not once did he tell Cavendish why._ _

__

__I am not a hero_ _

__

__He killed people!_ _

__

__I am not a movie star_ _

__

__How unforgiving is that!_ _

__

__I am not a genius I know_ _

__

__Why did he go through with it?!_ _

__

__I am not a monk_ _

__

__Dakota screams._ _

__

__I'm not special_ _

__

__The weight on his chest gets harder and harder._ _

__

__I'm the same as you_ _

__

__Tears spill._ _

__

__And you_ _

__

__Cavendish bangs on the door, demanding to be let in._ _

__

__You were there too_ _

__

__Bang bang bang bang bang_ _

__

__You drove that train_ _

__

__Dakota grabs his hair._ _

__

__Right through my heart_ _

__

__Blood splattering on the ground._ _

__

__You_ _

__

__Pale dead eyes._ _

__

__You were there too_ _

__

__Dakota dries his tears._ _

__

__You drove that train_ _

__

__He comes out and they don't speak about it. They don't say a word until the next day. They pretend everything is normal._ _

__He wants to scream._ _

__

__Right through my heart_ _

__

__Dakota leaves their shared space for the day._ _

__

__But I guess it's time_ _

__

__He comes back late at night._ _

__

__To put that to bed_ _

__

__He enters their house without knocking._ _

__

__But I guess it's time_ _

__

__Dakota sighs._ _

__

__To let the dead be dead_ _

__

__"Hey Cavendish? We need to talk."_ _


	3. Tango Dancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cavendish is surprisingly understanding and Dakota tells him about his glasses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EPILOGUE IS HERE LADS!! WE MADE IT! AND FOR SOME REASON IT'S LONGER THAN THE MAIN CHAPTER I DON'T KNOW WHY

Dakota didn’t need glasses. After he became an assassin he got an eye check and had almost perfect vision. As far as he was concerned his eyesight was 20/20.

So why does he have sunglasses? Everyone asks. 

“Nothing, they’re just a pair of glasses I got a while ago. Nothing special.”

Dakota slides his thumb back and forth on the handles of his shades. 

He sighs.

He feels the scratched edges of the old plastic in his fingers. Innocent plastic, a familiar comfort against his bloodied fingers.

A pair of regular old glasses. 

The lenses have cuts in uncomfortable positions. The handles have snapped off more times than he can count yet Dakota keeps repairing them stubbornly with shaking fingers.

He can get a pair in any mall he visits, yet he won’t let this one go.

He’s sitting on his and Cavendish’s bed. A heavy silence weighs upon them as Cavendish ponders what Dakota told him. He fidgets with his glasses.

“Kota, You’ve saved me time and time again. Sacrificed yourself countless times for me. What you’ve done in the past, it’s timelines away. You said it yourself, that what you did doesn’t happen anymore. You’re a good person Vinnie. A hero.”

Dakota chuckles, a humorless and dry laugh. 

“That excuses nothing. I know what I did, even if i’m sorry, even if it didn’t happen anymore. There’s really no excuse here, Cav. No matter how many times I say sorry it won’t change. I’m unforgivable.”

Cavendish tuts and lifts Dakota’s face to his.

Dakota sees warm skies love in them.

“I forgive you.”

Dakota starts to cry.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dakota was a strange man, Cavendish thought.

From the instant they first met there was something about him that Cavendish couldn’t quite place. As if he’d known him before. 

Cavendish found himself getting annoyed and confused by him in such a primal, instinctive way and for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why.

Cavendish and Dakota have been working together for years. They know each other better than anyone else. 

Cavendish is not oblivious.

Cavendish keeps his guard up.

Cavendish is destined for greatness and knows the obstacles.

One such obstacle, is the nagging in the back of his head telling him to run away whenever Dakota is near him.   
Cavendish wants to scream at Dakota. He wants to know what he’s hiding. Cavendish may be an incompetent agent but he will not be an incompetent friend. 

Cavendish feels in his feet the need to climb up a mountain. He wants the approval of his superiors. He wants to prove he can be more than what was expected of him all his life. He will create greatness and he knows it.

What does Dakota want? Cavendish wonders.

Dakota wants to sail in a long peaceful boat ride. He wants to see the beauty of life at every age. Dakota wants to see the smiles on people’s faces. Wants the loving embrace of his partner. He wants to watch the sunset go down on a calm summer evening.

Dakota wants tranquility.

So when hearing Dakota confess to him what he’s done, Cavendish finds himself unsurprised. 

Cavendish has seen the lengths Dakota went through to save him. He’s seen how selfless Dakota can be. 

Dakota is a good person and Cavendish pities him for not seeing it. 

Cavendish takes Dakota’s glasses from his shaking, crying, guilty hands and sets them aside. Cavendish moves in to hug the shorter man, not caring about how wet his suit will end up.

Dakota embraces him and falls asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

Days pass and the two find themselves sitting on the Danville docks. Watching the repetitive lapses of the waves.  
“Do you know where I got my glasses from?” 

“Didn’t you say you brought them from your own timeline?”

Dakota chuckles and smiles softly, the rose-tinted glasses reflecting the orange of the water as the sun strikes it. 

“Yeah. I got them from one of my missions. It was supposed to be a regular old mission but to be honest, I think it was one of my most important ones.”

Cavendish raises a brow.

“Well? Go on then, tell me this supposed ‘important mission’ of yours.”

Dakota starts.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Your next target lives in the south side of Danville. 70 year old Jonah Murphy.”

“70 years old? Won’t he just be dead in a few years anyway?”

His client shook her head. 

“Unfortunately not. By all accounts he should not be alive. Strange things happen around this man and we cannot take any more chances. He must be killed. For the safety of my people.” she spoke. 

Dakota raised a suspicious brow and shrugged. Job’s a job, he guessed. 

Dakota left the building and stepped out into the street. Put his hands in his jacket pockets and started walking.

Along the cracked streets lined with vines and fallen rubble he tried to envision his plan.

Dakota supposed he could go with an easy weapon route, but he’d much rather not get his hands dirty, he had just cleaned his jacket from the last mission. 

Dakota stepped into a boat waiting near a bridge. The Danville dam broke down forever ago and the city didn’t have the money to fix it (they barely had any money but that’s besides the point) so they turned some streets into canals. 

Dakota guessed he could go with drowning but that’ll be messy. His body will be easily recognizable considering how few people live in the city and how they all seem to know each other. That option’s out, then.

Dakota swerved the boat into south Danville. Let’s see, he lives in 5521 Druid Dr. Really Druid Sail now, Dakota joked in his head. 

He pulled the paddle to a stop near a small dock and got out of the boat. 

It’s showtime.

He jumped the fence and found an unexpected sight. Broken glass lies on the tall grass, ivy covers the tree and burn marks show no hesitation in announcing their presence. The backyard deck has a suspiciously sized how in one corner, broken concrete in another. Smashed residue of what once could have been a grill lie crumpled under a now-rubble rooftop of the deck. You’d think an old man would know how to take care of his own health, jesus.  
At least the back door is still somewhat intact. 

Dakota walked forward to it, leaves crunch with every step he made. 

The door’s unlocked and thank heaven for that. Dakota was sure if he tried to pry it open he’d be smashed under rubble. 

Dakota entered the house and found chaos. A flickering light welcomed him inside the dining area. A pitiful sight lied before him.

A singular wooden chair stood on one edge of the table, it’s wood almost rotten and completely destroyed. The kitchen, once blue and white, was dusted and jaded. The sink dripped water repeatedly and the metal around it rusted. Whoever this man was, clearly didn’t care about his wellbeing. Dakota gathered. But why should he care? This man’s his target, it only makes Dakota’s job easier. 

“It used to be beautiful.”

Dakota jumped and whipped his head towards the source of the sound. In the living room, a person sat.

“What did you say?”

Dakota stepped closer to the man and assessed his appearance.

The man had his eyes closed. Bags under it showing proudly. His cheeks sagged with wrinkles and dark spots. Atop his head, light white hair stood up, almost like feathers. His lips dry and cracked, yet still smiling. Dakota swore he could see scars covering the man’s face.

His hands sat on top of one another, resting on his knees. Long, thin fingers slowly moved back and forth on his other hand. His arms were covered by long green sleeves hugging his body. His pants were ripped and dirty but the man didn’t seem to care. 

Dakota inquired. 

“Who’re you?”

The man didn’t open his eyes.

“You know who I am, son.”

Dakota blinked. This was his target.

This was his target? Really?

“You were expecting me.”

His soft smile expanded. His thin brows curved towards his eyes. 

“Yes. Yes I did.” 

“So you know why I’m here. And you’re okay with that?”

His Target let out a quiet laugh. Dakota couldn't help but notice the wheeze trying to hide under it.

“This was a long time coming. I would not be surprised by this fifty years ago and I am not surprised by it now.”

Dakota quirked his head to the side.

The Target seemed to sense his confusion. If he did, he didn’t mention it.

“Would you like some tea, son?”

Dakota was taken aback for a moment before stuttering out a quick “Uh, yeah sure.”

The Target took his cane from off the couch and got up. “Sit down, young man. I’ll be right back.” 

Dakota obliged. 

He watched the man walk over to his kitchen. A slight limp on his left foot, his back is slightly slouched. The Target seemed unfazed by it. 

“I thought tea companies shut down fifty years ago? They were taking too many plants from the environment?” 

The Target reached a top cabinet and pulled out two mugs. “They were. Of course, that won’t stop people from growing their own tea leaves, now would it?”

Dakota’s face reddened in embarrassment. “Ah, right.” 

He watched the Target fill up a tea kettle with water and put it on the stove. The Target stepped outside for a moment. “Excuse me, but will you watch the water while I go get the leaves?” 

Dakota muttered “Okay”.

“Thank you so much, young man.”

Dakota stood up to head for the kettle. His eyes never left the Target. He watched as the Target stepped over the rubble and headed towards the back fence. A small flower garden stood beneath a blanket covering them. Hiding produce, clever. Dakota thought. Thieves will steal anything they can no matter what.

He watched the Target bend down to the flowers with some struggle. He picked out some green leaves from the edge of one of the rows and stood back up. 

Just as he did, a branch filled with bird eggs dropped from a tree. 

The Target noticed this and threw his cane away, with a sprint he caught the branch safely and brought it to the ground. He limped back to his cane and picked it up, leaves still in his hand.

The Target entered the house, his drooping eyes bordered on pettiness as he saw Dakota’s gobsmacked expression.

“Close your mouth, son. Unless you want to end up eating a fly.”

Dakota shook his head and stared at his Target. 

“How did you do that?! It was like ten feet away from you and you just ran towards it and caught it perfectly! Your leg is injured and you use a cane. What were you thinking running towards it like that?!”

The Target let out a wild, loud cackle. His laughs echoing in guffaws and snorts. The wheezing was still there, but the Target didn’t care.

“Curious, are you? I’ll answer your questions in due time. For now, just stop the kettle from overflowing more.”

Dakota did a double take and turned the stove off, grumbling at the snickers coming from the Target.

The two took the cups and Kettle into the living room and set them down on the table. The Target on the couch, Dakota on the floor.

Dakota watched as the Target poured the water into the cups, leaves adding a golden colour to the liquid. 

“Sugar cube?”

“Oh, no thank you I’m good.”

Dakota spoke uncomfortably.

“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m here to kill you.” 

The Target sipped his tea in small parts before setting it down and answering.

“Anyone who enters this house is my guest and guests deserve common courtesy. Your visit just happens to be more er… urgent. But common courtesy is common courtesy no matter what.”

Dakota hummed and brought his cup towards his lips. The warmth of the tea reminded him of a fireplace during the cold nights of winter. Dakota smiled.

“What’s on your mind there, son?”

“Just… thinking of old friends is all.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I grew up with a buncha siblings. I mean, we weren’t related but we were still family, Y’know? We all wandered around the city’s ruins looking for things to eat in trash cans before we met. Me an’ Joey went around all of town finding other boys and girls with no place to go and ended up forming a base in an old abandoned zoo. We all stayed there and helped each other as much as we could. Eventually, an old woman found us and took us in. All of us. I remember she’d sing to us lullabies every night. She was from Italy, I think? So all of her songs were in Italian. Of course that didn’t stop us from learning the words.” Dakota chortles as he continues, 

“I remember this one year, it was winter. We were all getting ready for Christmas and spent the whole day working for it. Lanna, Eva and Mandy took Mom on an “adventure” around the city, which they claimed had a dragon roaming through it. Billy, Nick and Sam worked on the food, being the ones to actually come from households who knew how to cook. While Joey, Cam and I decorated the house. By the end of the day we were all so exhausted we fell asleep in the living room before we could actually celebrate. When the girls came back, they basically fainted into our dogpile and slept with us. Mom lit the fireplace near us and slept on her chair.”

The Target nodded along to Dakota, his smile becoming wider and wider.

“Sounds like you had quite a childhood.”

Dakota let out a huff in happiness. “Yeah. I did.”

The two sat in silence until Dakota cleared his throat. “So what about you? I mean, what’s with all the mystery around you? You’re practically the only person who lives on this street, you know that right?”

The Target’s smile faltered for a brief second, barely seen. 

“Come on a walk with me.” He ordered.

The Target stood up and started walking towards the front door.  
Dakota sat on the floor for a few seconds before processing what was happening and scrambled up to the Target.

“Woah woah wait where are we going? You can’t just leave like that.” 

The Target stood outside of the door, looking at Dakota from the outside.

“I just did.”

The door slammed closed. 

Dakota laughed and ran towards the door. This Target is ridiculous!

He opened the door and skittered across the pavement, almost falling into the water. The Target was already walking.

“Hey, hold on a second. Wait up!” 

The Target yelled back 

“If I can walk faster than you at this age then there’s no chance you’ll get to kill me!”

Dakota rolled his eyes and sprinted to the Target.

As he caught up the Target side eyed him and snarked.

“Ah, so you can catch up. Good to know I’m as fit as a spring chicken.”

Dakota lightly smacked the Target’s shoulders and kept walking with him.

“You do realize that we’re not in your house anymore, right? Means I’m no longer a guest and can kill you anytime now.”

“Oh yes I know. I just thought we’d want a change of scenery. After all, I still didn’t answer your question did I?”

Dakota raised his finger to retort before putting it down. “No. No you didn’t.”

“And you want to know don’t you?”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

“Guess you’ll have to wait with the killing, then!” The Target beamed.

Dakota huffed in annoyance and stuffed his hands in his jacket.

The two walked in a comfortable silence. At least, until a metal beam almost impaled Dakota.

The Target grabbed Dakota’s shoulders and pushed him away as the beam struck the ground where Dakota was standing. 

The Target barely flinched. Dakota stood there breathing heavily.

“Okay what the fuck! That’s the second time you’ve done that. What are you, a bad luck magnet?” 

The Target signalled for Dakota to keep walking. “You could say that.”

“I hope you realize that doesn’t answer my questions.”

“I’m aware.”

“Of course you are.

After the fifth or sixth time something weird happened around them, Dakota started getting fed up with the nonsense. How and why does this not faze Target?

He didn’t say anything, but kept a close eye to everything around them. 

The two came to a stop in front of an alley. Dakota looked confused.

The Target looked delighted.

“So our stop for the rest of the conversation is… an alleyway?”

“Quit your complaining we’re not there yet.”

Dakota was soon to figure out, their destination was a hidden part of the Danville docks.

“The docks extend into the lake here. Not many people know that.”

Dakota looked around in amusement.

“Neat place. Lotsa green.”

The Target gave a chuckle. “Yes, lots of green.”

They walked towards the edge of the dock and sat down, the waves licked the sand with soft calming caresses.

“Murphy’s Law.”

Dakota looked at the Target.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. That’s Murphy’s Law. Throughout generations my family has been dealing with Murphy’s Law to its fullest extent. Extreme Hereditary Murphy’s Law, it’s known as.”

The Target sighs.

“That’s why I live alone. Why my house looks the way it does. It belonged to my family for generations. I thought it would stand much longer than it did.”

Dakota nods.

“You can’t control it?”

The Target shakes his head, “No, sonny. No.”

“We’ve tried to control it before but it never worked. We Murphys always believed that the only thing you can control it with is a positive attitude and good attention.”

His smile drops into a frown.

“But positive attitude can’t fix blindness.”

The Target twists his ring around on his finger.

“Your wife?” Dakota hesitated.

“She was… wonderful. Put up with anything Murphy’s Law threw at her. No matter how intense it was she promised to stay by my side. That is, until a broken ultraviolet light flashed in her eyes. She went almost completely blind. Watching her struggle the way she did.. You can’t understand how painful that was. She died months afterwards. Car crash.”

“I’m.. so sorry.”

“Absolutely nothing to be sorry for. We had good times and that’s all that matters.”

Jonah spilled a tear.

“And that’s all that matters.”

Dakota gazed at the ocean. 

“What if… what if I never find that?”

Jonah raised a brow.

“Find what exactly?”

“What you had.”

Jonah took a deep breath and answered.

“It’s always out there. You might have seen in already, you might have not. The good moments never stray too far to those willing to look for them. Seek out happiness and it will find you.”

Dakota felt a nudge on his shoulder.

“Somewhere out there, you’ll find your happiness.”

Jonah held out a pair of orange glasses. Their lenses were tinted rose-gold. The outer part is covered in plastic gold and a small red line.  
“She would put on the most ridiculous pair of glasses she could find whenever we met with friends. She kept saying she doesn’t want pity, she wants laughter. On our wedding anniversary, she gave me these.”

You’re giving it to me? Why?”

“Dakota, I have barely another day left on Earth. I’m sure she’d want me to give them to someone else before I passed. This is a symbol of happiness for me. I want it to be one for you too.”

Dakota took the glasses from Jonah and hesitantly put them on.

He looked at Jonah for approval. Wrinkled dry lips spread into a smile, old, baggy eyes watered.

“They fit you perfectly.”

The two sat on the docks watching the sun go down, Jonah leaned on Dakota and with one last breath, Jonah said,

“You’re a good man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was some heavy shit y'all but it was so fun to write. I wanted to explore some new ideas for Dakota's past and the whole deal with the Mississippi Purchase. After reading some other works where Dakota and Cavendish have been partners it got me thinking. "What if Dakota killed Cavendish instead?" and thus, this fic was born! I knew that I wanted my final chapter to be about Dakota's glasses and how he got them and I thought it would be a neat concept to have the person who gives him those glasses a Murphy. 
> 
> btw Cavendish and Dakota definitely went on a date after this chapter.
> 
> (which ended in Dakota getting Cavendish a keyboard and Cavendish getting Dakota a zoology book)
> 
> (they both cried but you didn't hear it from me)

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaaaaaaa


End file.
